Bitcoin (BTC for short) is a kind of digital currency, with a total amount of 2 1 10,000, which has the same characteristics as the Internet, such as decentralization, globalization and anonymity. Moving Bitcoin to the other side of the world is as simple as sending an email, with low cost and no restrictions. Bitcoin is therefore used in cross-border trade, payment, remittance and other fields.
The role and value of bitcoin-
Pay remittance:
As we all know, there is a cost in the cross-space capital flow, and the cost of capital flow is embodied in the forms of credit card fees, inter-bank fees, foreign/transnational remittance fees, currency conversion fees and so on. The essence of cost is the overstaffed personnel, venues, equipment and other costs of the government and banks. More importantly, the government often restricts the cross-border flow of funds through foreign exchange control, while Bitcoin is completely unaffected by foreign exchange control. As an Internet currency, Bitcoin can be sent and received at a very low cost as long as there is a network.
Smart contract:
The so-called smart contract is a set of contracts defined in programming form, which can be automatically executed without human intervention. Smart contracts can manipulate real-world assets. When a pre-programmed condition is triggered, smart contracts implement the corresponding contract terms, thus realizing "programmable economy", such as diversifying stocks, insurance, gambling and other functions, which are widely used in Internet of Things, supply chain and other fields. Programmable economy will significantly solve the problems of transparency and credibility in economic operation and reduce the cost of social operation.
Information disclosure:
Every transaction of Bitcoin is broadcast through the whole network, and all transactions are visible to everyone, which means that everyone can view all historical transactions of a Bitcoin address, and these transactions can never be forged, which has become a particularly useful function in some cases.
Speculative target:
Bitcoin has a huge imagination and great controversy, so it shows that the fluctuation range far exceeds other investment products, which is naturally suitable for hot money speculation. In order to achieve several times or even dozens of times of profit in the stock market, it is necessary to use leverage at the risk of exploding positions; But in the bitcoin market, there is no need to use leverage and there is no need to take the risk of short positions. It is possible to achieve several times or even dozens of times of profit only by relying on the fluctuation of Bitcoin itself.
Legal constraints of relevant countries on bitcoin-
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) defines Bitcoin as a commodity, just like the classification of gold, crude oil and wheat.
In the Notice on Preventing Bitcoin Risks jointly issued by the People's Bank of China and other five ministries and commissions, financial institutions are prohibited from intervening in Bitcoin.
New york Monetary Authority (NYDFS) issued BitLicense to supervise the enterprises engaged in bitcoin financial transactions.
The British Customs and Excise Department (HMRC) believes that bitcoin is a currency and is exempt from value-added tax on bitcoin transactions. However, governments such as Sweden and Germany have always believed that Bitcoin should be regarded as a commodity.
The European Court of Justice ruled that bitcoin should be regarded as a currency, not a commodity, and trading bitcoin does not have to pay VAT like trading commodities.